


Full of broken thoughts

by phantomofhogwarts



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Klaus Hargreeves, Alternate Timelines, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Klaus Hargreeves Gets A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Mentioned Ben Hargreeves, Mentioned Reginald Hargreeves, Mentions of ghosts, One Shot, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Post-episode: s02e10 The End of Something, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, Sparrow Academy Ben Hargreeves mentioned, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26535661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomofhogwarts/pseuds/phantomofhogwarts
Summary: When the Hargreeves siblings go back to 2019 and find some different things they don't know what to do. All of them feel lost, but Klaus is feeling even worse upon seeing a different Ben and feeling his powers get too much to handle. It couldn't get worse, right? Unless seeing a confused familiar face counts as a possibility.ORKlaus meets his alternate self in a different timeline...and his sister
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	Full of broken thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Hurt" by Johnny Cash

"Dad, who the hell are these assholes?"

Those words were still echoing in his head. Ben was alive, he was standing there in front of him. But, that wasn't the same Ben. The one who would get annoyed at his behavior, his jokes...no, that Ben was gone. That was what Vanya said, right? Then, that so-called Sparrow Academy and their dad showed up and he couldn't understand what was happening. He followed his siblings out of the house while Five was talking too fast for his own good, saying how they messed up the timeline again. 

“So, they are the Umbrella Academy in this timeline?”, Luther asked while Five paced around. They finally stopped walking and were standing in an alley far from the Academy.

“I don’t know! I have no idea what is going on! If they are here, then what happened to us? Where are we? I need to think!”, sighed Five. He looked around, searching for something to write and he found an old marker next to the wall. He turned his back to the others and immediately started writing his equations in the wall of that building, occasionally talking to himself.

“Five, slow down, we need to talk about all of this and…”, Diego tried to say, but Five turned to face his siblings again, rage in his eyes.

“What the hell do you think I’m trying to do? If they are the new Academy and Dad is alive, it means there are different versions of ourselves in this parallel timeline and…”

Klaus couldn't focus on any word his brother was saying, he couldn’t stop thinking about Ben. As if it couldn’t get any worse, the voices of the ghosts were coming back again, it seems that only the sight of their Dad made him remember everything about the mausoleum. Those thoughts worked like a bait and the voices were banging in his head again. Adding to this how tired he was because of the time travel with the suitcase, he felt horrible. 

“Guys…”, he tried to say in a weak voice.

“Not now, Klaus!”, Five stopped him while turning back to his equations.

How did the voices get so loud? He needed to breath, take some time, process everything that was going on.

"Klaus, where do you think you're going? We must stay together now more than ever! We have no idea about how bad things are right now!", Five snarled at him, but Klaus didn't care. Vanya and Allison tried to stop him, but he walked away from his siblings, waving his Goodbye hand and started walking without any destination in mind.

Their voices were getting loud again, way too loud. He took some deep breaths while trying to focus and push them away, but he also thought about getting drunk or looking for one of his old dealers. Maybe he could find Old Joe around here, right?  _ No! He wouldn't do that! _ A little voice inside his head was telling him he could get over this, he stayed three years sober in the 60’s, he had to keep on like that. But, the pills made everything so much easier, it wasn't like he had a reason to actually stay sober anymore.  _ No, he was strong enough, he could do this! _

The voices calling him were getting louder by each step he took, his physical state wasn't helping him keep his control now, the emotional side was even worse. 

_ Klaus...Klaus...Klaus… _

He didn't actually realize where he was walking to, but the ghosts were so loud that he had to stop for a moment, leaning in a wall with eyes closed, his fingers on his temples, a headache starting to show. Why didn't the voices stop? Why couldn't he make it stop? He needed to calm down, he couldn't pass out now, he had to…

The door of the shop opened and hit his back and he almost fell to the ground. He was so out of himself trying to control his powers that he didn't realize he was standing in the front door of a coffee shop.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you? Are you ok?", a worried young woman said with a trembling voice. Klaus was still keeping his right hand on his temples, keeping his back to her while steading his breath.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ok, don't worry. I didn't actually notice where I was standing", he said trying to sound as calm as possible while turning to face her. But, when he did, he saw her staring at him with a frown. 

"Wait, how are you here? I’ve just talked to you back inside right now! And, where did you get those clothes?", she asked very quickly. Then she raised her eyes to his head. "What about this hat?"

"Er, I'm sorry, I think you're mistaking me for someone else", Klaus said in a confused tone. "I don't think we ever met."

"Are you kidding me? Are you really saying you don't recognize your own sister anymore?"

His  _ what _ now? Klaus only had two sisters and none of them looked like this woman. She was still studying him with a confused look and Klaus noticed she had short black hair and hazel eyes and he assumed she was a little younger than him, if only he actually remembered how old he was now…

"Look, I don't want to be rude, but I really don't know you!"

"Sure, Klaus, keep playing your games with me, pretend it's funny!"

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"Because you're my brother, maybe? Hello, Earth to Klaus, Liz is calling! God, are you listening to anything I'm saying?"

His head was hurting more and more. Her name was Liz? Did she actually call him by his name? He couldn't think properly, but then, he vaguely remembered something Five mentioned before he walked away from his siblings. Apparently they were in a parallel timeline and there were other versions of themselves? And he was lucky enough to stumble into someone who was the sister of his parallel self? Destiny really liked to make fun of him, right?

"Listen, Liz, I think I know what's happening and I can explain", Klaus started saying. But, then, his vision became a blur and he couldn't say anything else. Without strength to keep himself standing, he fell to the ground, leaning his back on the wall of the shop again. One of the last things he could see was Liz coming closer to him, a worried look on her face.

"Who is this guy, Liz?", he heard a familiar voice say. Maybe too familiar, he thought while he blinked his eyes and saw a man next to Liz. He felt some shivers when he blinked again and wondered if he was looking at a mirror, because the man staring at him was exactly like Klaus. 

His eyelids were heavy when he opened his eyes again. Blinking a few times to adjust to the light, he saw Liz staring at him, a sense of worry over her face. Then, by her side, there was a mirror. No, not a mirror, but that was what felt like. Klaus wondered how twins usually felt while looking at someone else with the exact same appearance and he came to the conclusion that he would be very uncomfortable with this idea. If it was any consolation, his other self tried to keep some distance while looking at him with wide eyes. Besides the curlier hair pulled back in a bun and the clothes with light colors, they were a copy of each other. Oh, who was he trying to deceive? They were  _ exactly _ like each other…

"Where am I? How long have I been like this?", Klaus asked trying to look around. He was sitting on a couch in a small office without any windows to let the sunlight in. A little coffee table was on the side of the couch and he noticed a glass of water. Liz nodded as if saying that he should drink that and so he did. He didn't realize how much he needed it till now, his throat was terribly dry.

"In my office, in the back of the coffee shop. You passed out and we brought you here, it’s been almost two hours. Are...are you feeling ok?", Liz said, a little hesitant. Klaus nodded before looking at his copy standing next to her.

"Why do you look exactly like me?", his other self asked, trying to not be rude. Klaus held back a laugh while sipping the water again.

"Believe me, I wish I could explain and make you believe. I hate to admit it, but Five was right after all…"

"Five? Five what?", the other Klaus furrowed his brows. Gosh, it was like looking at a reflection! 

"It's not 'what', it's 'who'", corrected Klaus. "He's my brother. Well, I'm not sure anymore if I can say he's my little brother or my older brother, time is so weird lately…"

"Wait, wait, you brother's name is Five? What do you mean?"

He wondered for a moment if he could actually talk about everything. Well, nothing could get any worse, right? 

"Oh, Liz, I wish it was that easy to explain...but, things can't get crazier than already are, so here we go…"

Klaus told them about his siblings, the Academy, the powers, the apocalypse, the time travel, the new apocalypse, the other time travel...by every word he said, the confused faces of Liz and the other Klaus only got bigger. He could almost hear Five screaming at him for saying all of that for two strangers, how dangerous that was. What if the Commission found them here? What if they tried to kill all of them again? Klaus didn't care, for some reason, he had a feeling that he could trust Liz and her brother. Even though it was weird looking at a different copy of himself.

When he finished saying everything, he just let his arms fall to the side of his body with a sigh while studying Liz's face along with her brother. 

"I...well...I don't know how to handle all of that right now", she said fumbling with her hands. Her brother, on the other side, had his eyes locked on the floor for some moments before looking at Klaus again.

"You said you have powers, right? You can see ghosts?"

"See, listen, talk to them if I'm in the mood. Apparently they can also possess me which is not cool at all", Klaus answered while remembering how bad he felt when Ben left his body. However, he didn't want to think about Ben, it was still too painful.

"That explains the pills I got from the psychiatrist", the alternate Klaus said, pulling a little tube with pills from his pocket. "The doctors never understood what was wrong with me, I lost count of how many different medicines they gave me until we got to this one. I just feel numb all the time, but this stopped the visions."

"You see them too?", Klaus said in a low voice, almost like trying to hide from the ghosts, so they wouldn't find him again.

"Yes. I feel dizzy most of the time, but that's the price I'm willing to pay for the silence in my mind."

Klaus tried to force a little smile at his alternate version, but the headache hit him again, stronger than before. He closed his eyes and covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming. His powers have been getting stronger lately, but it didn't mean he knew how to be in control all the time. 

"Klaus? Klaus, look at me", Liz said kneeling on his side. Klaus took a few breaths before turning to her while following her voice, his eyes still closed. His head was hurting so much with those voices again…"Breath, take a deep breath, focus on something else. Think about your siblings, maybe this will help."

"No, they are too loud, I can't push them away!", Klaus cried, trying to cover his ears.

"Remember them, Klaus! Remember your siblings' names, how you met each other again in the 60’s, how all of you arrived here. Focus on something!", Liz's voice seemed to be far away from him. He felt some movement on his side, his other self was getting closer to try to help him somehow.

"They will be looking for you, you'll need to go back for them", his other self told him with a calm voice.

"No, they won't", Klaus laughed, finally opening his eyes and looking at them. "They don't take me seriously, they still see me as a junkie after all this time. They just can't believe I can get sober if I want to, they probably didn't even notice how long I've been gone today and, to be honest, it wouldn't be the first time anyway! I hear these voices all the time, people calling my name and thinking I can help them, but I can't...not even the person I love believed me when I tried to save his life. My dead brother could take control of my body and nobody cared about how bad that made me feel! Now he's gone for good and nobody seems to care about it, but me!"

He didn't realize how he was screaming when he finished saying all of that, but the pain was so much that made him snap. At least, the voices stopped and his head wasn't pounding so much now. He felt sweat forming in his forehead and tears burning his eyes. That was the truth, right? His siblings didn't take him seriously, he would always be the drug addict, the weird brother, the irresponsible one. 

"Klaus? I know I can't say I understand how you're feeling now, but I want to help you somehow", the alternate Klaus said, while touching his arm. "In some weird way we are both the same person dealing with these voices in our heads. Oh, yeah, baby!", he added when Klaus gave him a frown. "If I run out of pills, I have some serious issues, just ask Liz! My little sister had some hard times with me when we were younger. But, I know I can count with her support, no matter what. And, I don't care about what is going on with you and your siblings and all this crazy shit with different timelines. As long as you're here, we want to help you in any way we can. I mean, if you want us to, of course."

Klaus looked at both of them, Liz was still kneeling on the side of the couch, a small smile showing in her face before standing up to hug him followed by her brother and Klaus let his arms hold both of them.. Maybe they could be the ones to help him. Maybe that other Klaus could understand his pain and Liz would try to help him like she tried to help her brother. Could they really help him? Perhaps, that was the only way to find out.


End file.
